US sanctions hit World of Warcraft fans in Iran

They've vanquished elves, trolls and all manner of magical monsters. But one
select group of online gamers is facing an even more formidable foe: The US
sanctions regime.

Blizzard's Warcraft franchise dates back to 1994 and has grown into a sprawling virtual world complete with its own online economy and a thriving subculture

6:06AM BST 29 Aug 2012

Iranian players of World of Warcraft, the massively popular online multiplayer franchise, have found themselves frozen out by Blizzard Activision, the American company behind the game.

Iranian role playing enthusiasts have spent much of the past week peppering Blizzard's message board with complaints about how they have been unable to log on to the service - only to be told recently that US law was to blame.

"United States trade restrictions and economic sanction laws prohibit Blizzard from doing business with residents of certain nations, including Iran," the company said in an email sent to players.

"Blizzard tightened up its procedures to ensure compliance with these laws, and players connecting from the affected nations are restricted from access to Blizzard games and services."

A post to Blizzard's message board by a company employee also noted that rules meant Iranian players would not be getting refunds.

Blizzard's Warcraft franchise dates back to 1994 and has grown into a sprawling virtual world complete with its own online economy and a thriving subculture. The games' more than 9m subscribers can log on to assume the identity of an array of fantastical characters and fight together - or each other - for experience points, magical weapons and loot. Subscriptions cost $14.99 for one month.

It isn't clear precisely how many players were affected by the block. Blizzard's public relations director, Rob Hilburger, said that the company doesn't break player data out by country or region for competitive reasons. But he said the Iranian market compromised only "a tiny fraction" of the company's subscribers worldwide.

Hilburger didn't immediately respond to a question from AP asking why the company had only recently blocked Iranian players from its service.